Broithe

Thanks! That could be very useful - some really nice things there. In the piercing saw section, I feel it's (almost) always worth having an adjustable frame - you can still use a broken blade then.. http://www.dixequipment.com/products/saw-frames-best-quality-german-made/

I have a wobbly wheel on a 201, if they ever come into your system.

If it is these people, https://mattessons.co.uk/ , then it is double-t, double-s, and no h or r...

I would want sound - with selectable bacon sizzle, kettle whistle and spoon stirring tin mug.

I remember that day well - I just don't remember much of the evening or the following morning...

You could fix the point near the place where the moving bar is - the actuating pin will flex to take up any extra motion then.

It would put a stop to all the arguments about the gauge...

Crossing the tracks at Ballybrophy was accepted, when necessary, before the lift bridge arrived. I did it a few times with bulky items, by agreement. The longer southbound trains would stop with the loco on the crossing, which meant waiting until it really was clear was made even more obvious - and visibility in both directions was more than adequate.

Ah - I had a cursory look for the word 'Shop' and soon gave up, not spotting that - Thanks.

There is a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Irish-Freight-Models-1252098201500518/ . It has this note on it currently - Please note the Irish Freight Models website is currently offline, the shop area can be accessed from the shop link on this Facebook page, Thanks - although, I'm not quite sure what that means.

I've never had much trouble in railway situations, but I'm not a regular attender. Plane-spotting, on the other hand, can be much more 'serious'. I will confess to having been inside, but only for a couple of hours. I was either side of thirteen at the time and was apprehended at gun-point - in fact, bayonet-point, which I remember thinking seemed rather quaint. My father and I spent a couple of hours in military custody and were released without charges. The time in the cell was certainly less stressful than the time spent being initially searched and questioned by a very twitchy chap with an SLR. His two companions were rather more amenable. The twenty minute journey back to their base, over dirt roads, was very entertaining - with me being 'held hostage' and my father following on his motorbike, being covered by Mr Twitchy lying on the back bench of the Land Rover that by this stage had no floor left, due to the radio batteries leaking during the emergency run to capture us. It didn't take long to convince the Interrogating Officer that we were not PLO terrorists, when he finally arrived. I had a few more armed detentions, but only for as long as it took to explain oneself. The one above escalated because they had buggered their radio and so couldn't get guidance on what to do with us, and there were NATO allies in the vicinity who needed to be impressed by the level of security they were being afforded.

Intuitive? I once had the woman nextdoor ring the bell one night and ask me if I knew "the phone number for the ambulance"? Initially, I thought that it was going to lead to a joke, but it turned out that her daughter, who lived a couple of miles away had just rung her with the same question and she had come round to see if I knew. The old chap who lived nextdoor to the daughter had collapsed and they were at a loss as to how to proceed. Rather than risk any further delay, I rang and, although it must have sounded like the most bizarre of hoax calls, they attended fairly sharpish and picked up the victim.. These were people who watched Casualty, Holby City, etc., almost religiously. Never overestimate the public.

It seems reasonable to wait and see what level of chaos exists at the border after March next year, before chucking any money at that route. And, as for moaning about it being a diesel, it seems hardly likely to be electrified in the near future. I find that like the 22s more than I want to - as a passenger, they're better than the DMUs I suffer on occasion on the Big Island and don't seem very noisy inside (to me), though they do suffer from external engine noise, as the Voyagers, etc., here do.

You won't get this on the Big Island.

I think we should give the views of a man who bears some responsibility for the current state of things on the Big Island all the respect that they deserve..

Mmm, weird indeed - I've just put it back in again... Looks as it was again now..

Not a Bear and over the Black Sea, but the same sort of thing. It's interesting that the interloper turned out to be a Beriev 12 - not many amphibians in military service these days. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45301539

Well, that was very good - they had some weather issues, with rain and a low cloud-base at times, but they worked around it nicely. The stream was good quality and worked very well. A Mil 24 was thrashed about for a while and the Frecce Tricolori display was proper tight stuff. A Sukhoi 27 was put through its paces - and a Saab Gripen. There were displays by old Iskras and the new PZL trainer. There was a Finnish team flying four BAe Hawks, but one of them had an undisclosed 'difficulty' half-way through and had to clear off out of the way of the remaining aircraft. There had been a weather hiatus before the Gripen display and the poor squaddie who was filling in on the Tannoy found himself set up and having to propose marriage to his girlfriend to the ever-romantic sound of a Gripen being thrashed past behind him, as the weather had lifted by the time the trap was sprung.. The commentary was not the usual irritating Tannoy bellow, although the Italian woman was a bit shrieky and induced me to turn it down a bit. It was also notable that the marshals were very aware of being 'in the way' at times and kept moving, even dropping below the sight line at times, for the benefit of the observing crowd. There were two solo F-16 displays at the end, when the rising cloud base allowed, a Belgian one and a Turkish one. The Turkish chap was quite hard on the plane - they struggled to keep the camera on him - I certainly wouldn't let him drive my car!

There's a lot of windage loss under the train, too, but you need the track to be moving to properly assess that situation.

You are beyond my capacity to help now...

Have a look in your Downloads - they turned up in there and I (eventually) managed to see them - very nice, too.

This has appeared today.

It has got to the point now, where I don't like to induce him to go up there, just in case - but, if the opportunity presents itself, then I'll try to get some recent pictures. All I currently have is these few from ten years ago. The 'well' seen in the first three pictures is a sidetrack off the access tunnel.

A friend of mine has a layout in the large part of his loft, but the access is via the roof of a small extension, where the height is such that you have to flop sideways from the hatch, then proceed to crawl along a tunnel, about eight or ten feet long. It's all a bit "Great Escape". He is in his eighties now and only ventures up there for at least half a day at a time, it's too much effort to just nip up for a few minutes. We have gently mentioned what might happen if he ever has a 'turn' up there. We do have a cave rescue team about 30 miles away...